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The Love of God

The God Who Sees Us

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You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.
Psalm 139:1-6 NIV

Living with constant awareness of God’s omniscience is a key element to the Christian walk. The fact that the Lord knows everything about us—down to the smallest detail—should both comfort us and motivate us to live pure and righteous lives. It should also convict us greatly. Before we speak an untruth, dwell on an impure thought, or commit a sinful act, our awareness that God knows about it may deter us from sin.

Do not be deceived into thinking you can sin and get away with it. Even when no other human being is watching, God is. His all-seeing eye catches everything we do, and we are fully accountable to Him. Remember Achan (Joshua 7), who thought no one would know when he disobeyed God by taking a portion of Jericho’s spoil. No human eyes witnessed his treacherous deed, but the Lord saw him, and Achan paid for his sin with his life.

On the other hand, God’s omniscience should serve as a great source of comfort. Nothing that happens to us escapes God’s attention. He is fully aware of every trouble, trial, and threat we face. He is constantly watching over us, guarding and protecting us at all times. We can rest peacefully and walk fearlessly through life knowing that His loving, careful eye is always on us.

Remaining In Christ’s Perfect Love

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Remaining In Christ's Perfect Love

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."              John 15:9-11

Christ has one great charge for believers—to continue or to remain in His love. Jesus said that it is up to the believer to continue in His love. How? By doing what any person does when he wants someone to love him. The person draws near to the person he loves: he does good and tries to please the person. So it is with the believer. The believer continues in the love of Christ by drawing near and doing good and seeking to please Him—very simply by obeying His commandments.

Christ always loves; His love is always there. But it is up to man to walk in that love. A man can never know and experience the Lord’s love unless he walks in it.

Abiding or remaining in the love of Christ has a standard, a supreme example: it is Christ Himself. He was perfectly obedient to God; therefore, He continued in the Father’s love. We are to look at His obedience as our prime example.

Study Questions:

  1. Is drawing near to God something you do regularly? Is that difficult for you? If yes, why do you think that is?
  2. Is it hard for you to believe that Christ’s love is always there?
  3. There may be times when you feel like you fail at walking in His love, know that you are not alone. And know that God is full of grace. Meditate on this scripture. Let Christ’s never failing love for you stir up affections in your heart. And then ask yourself how you can better walk in God’s love.

Other verses: John 14:21, Colossians 2:6, 1 John 2:6

Download a free PDF of this section of The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible® and continue your study.



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Marked By Christ’s Love

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Marked By Christ's Love

"In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"         1 John 3:10-17 

Do we really love God? Are we marked by love? Is love the chief characteristic of our lives? Love proves that one understands the love of Christ. Jesus Christ laid down His life for us:

  • When we were still powerless, totally unable to help ourselves or to save ourselves
  • When we were ungodly
  • When we were sinners
  • When we were enemies of God, rebelling, cursing, neglecting, ignoring, denying and rejecting God

Despite all this, Jesus Christ died for us. He took our sins and the guilt for them upon Himself, and He paid the judgment for them. Jesus died for us. Why? Because He loves us; He loves us enough to die for us even when we oppose and do things against Him.

The point is this: if we love God, then we follow His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ. We love people just like He did; we love them even when they oppose and do things against us. Love also has compassion and gives to meet the needs of people. No matter what we profess, think, or argue, if we are not actively helping and giving to meet the needs of the desperate and needy in our communities and in the world, we do not love God. In fact, love is the proof that we really understand the love of Christ. If we love those who do things against us then we know the love of Christ. If we can help and sacrificially give to meet the needs of the oppressed, then we know the love of Christ.

God loved us: He gave all that He was and had to save us. Therefore, we must love others: we must give all that we are and have.

Study Questions:

  1. Do you believe that you are marked by love?
  2. Do you have an understanding of the depth of God’s love for you? How does that overflow into your daily life decisions?
  3. What can it look like for you to love those who oppose you? To love the less fortunate in your community?

Other verses: Romans 5:6-10, Romans 13:8-10, John 13:34-35

A Fervent Love

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A Fervent Love

"And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."           1 Peter 4:8

The word “deeply” is an athletic word. It means vent; to stretch and reach out; to strain and exert to the utmost degree just like an athlete in a race. It has the idea of burning and boiling and being passionate about loving one’s brother in Christ. A fervent love is far more than the human love of warm feelings and attraction. It is far more than sentimental and caring feelings for a person. The believer is to love with the ultimate love, the love of fervency. And note: fervent love is to be put before all else. It is the most important duty of the believer. We are to strain every ounce of energy in our minds and hearts to love. This means that we love others even when they:

  • Hurt us
  • Persecute us
  • Oppose us
  • Ridicule us
  • Abuse us
  • Speak evil against us
  • Injure us
  • Mock us

The most wonderful thing that happens when we love each other with a fervent love is this—a multitude of sins is covered. What exactly does this mean? It means that when we love, we are not hating and reacting and sinning. When we love we are living with a forgiving spirit and we are forgiving others, not living with a sinful and unforgiving spirit. It means that when we love, we are more likely to reach those who do evil toward us and thereby to win them to Christ and to a life of love and ministry upon the earth.

Study Questions:

  1. How would you define fervent love?
  2. Is it difficult for you to love fervently? Why do you think that is?
  3. What are examples of ways you can love somebody deeply? Fervently?
  4. Think of somebody that is hard for you to love. Over the next couple weeks, or even months, intentionally seek them out however you see fit. Pray that you would love them deeply and fervently as Christ has called us to do.

God’s Unbelievable Love

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God's Unbelievable Love

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." Romans 5:6-11

This passage discusses God’s unbelievable love. It shows the great depth of justification. The passage also gives one of the clearest definitions of agape love. It actually shows the meaning of agape love as a godly love, a sacrificial love, a love that gives itself for the powerless, for the ungodly, for sinners, and for enemies.

We were ungodly and imperfect, yet Christ died for us. God’s great love is seen in this unbelievable act. We were weak, worthless, useless, helpless, hopeless, destitute, and without strength. We were spiritually worthless and useless and unable to help ourselves. And at “just the right time” Christ died for us. Christ died for us. The word “for” means for our benefit, for our sake, in our behalf, in our stead, as our substitute. Christ died as our sacrifice, our ransom, and our atonement.

Christ died for those for whom no man would die, for those who were of no value and of no good. He died for those who were diametrically opposed to God, the very opposite from all that He is. Such is the unbelievable love of God; such is the depth of justification.

We were enemies, yet God has reconciled and saved us. God gives us joy through the reconciliation of Christ. A person who receives so much from God is bound to be filled with joy and rejoicing.

Study Questions:

  • What does agape love look like to you?
  • How does it make you feel knowing that Christ died for the sinful and helpless?
  • Do you live your life knowing that your sin was paid for because of the unbelievable act of love by Christ dying on the cross?
  • What are ways you can show agape love to the people you love deeply?

Download a free PDF of this section from The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible® and continue your study.

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The Great Supremacy of Love

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The Great Supremacy of Love

Both faith and hope are great qualities and gifts, but love is far superior. How? In this passage, Paul is contrasting love with the spiritual gifts and dealing with the tendency of people to center attention upon their gifts and accomplishments. Love is far superior to faith and hope for at least six reasons.

  1. Faith focuses upon the revelation of God, whereas love focuses upon God Himself. Love stirs a relationship of adoration and worship. Faith, of course, can stir the same adoration and worship; but faith can also exist without adoration and worship.
  2. Hope focuses upon being eternally with God in a perfect world, but again, love is superior because it focuses upon God Himself. A person can have hope in someone without loving him, but a person who loves someone always hopes in him.
  3. True agape love does not originate in the nature of man, but in the nature of God. God is love.
  4. True love is a gift of God. A man can know true love only as he comes to know the love of God.
  5. Experience and nature itself prove that faith and hope reach and grow people, but love reaches and grows people far more than any other gift or quality.
  6. A person can believe in God, yet feel he is above others. His faith may make him proud, arrogant. But true love has no weaknesses. Love never fails, it never comes short. Love involves caring and giving, selflessness and sacrifice.

There is no question, what the world needs more than anything else is love. If people loved each other, really loved each other, there would be no more war, crime, abuse, injustice, poverty, hunger, homelessness, deprivation, or immorality. Love is the one ingredient that could revolutionize society. Love is the greatest quality of human life. Love is the supreme quality, the most excellent way for a man to live.

Study Questions:

  • What feelings arise for you when you think of the word “love”?
  • Is it hard for you to understand the depths of love? Why do you think that is?
  • Do you believe that love is superior to hope and faith? Is that hard for you?
  • Do you believe that love could revolutionize the world? What are tangible ways that you could love better?

Download a free PDF of this section from The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible® to continue your study.

Free PDF Download